My Story

My name is Amy, I am 28 years old, and I am a left leg below-knee amputee.

On March 2, 2012, I was in a very tragic tornado accident. I was in a friend’s mobile home and a tornado came through and completely demolished it. It threw me about 100 yards, I suffered critical injuries, and I lost my left leg below-knee during the tornado. I was in the trauma unit for 6 weeks on life support and in a medical coma just fighting for my life. I had many critical injuries, my lungs being the biggest issue.

The short version of the story is that I am a miracle to be living today! After I got better and everything, I got fitted for a prosthetic leg. And at first it was rough. I won’t go into details but I had issues with finding a good orthopedic company that knew how to fit me correctly the first two years.

In 2015 I started looking for a better clinic for me, and that’s when I found the place I am now. They were just amazing!! They helped get me in a good fitting prosthetic. When I went there I walked with a bad limp and was having many problems. They took their time and knew what they were doing. I am not an easy fit at all but they didn’t give up on me.

At the beginning I was all for the “skin covers” to make my prosthetic look real and natural. But I come to realize covers are not easy when making adjustments. So I decided not long after to do away with the cover and show my metal and I don’t regret it one bit! It has helped me to accept being an amputee.

And I am proud of it.

My advice to any new amputees is it gets better and easier, and looks aren’t everything. I am proud to be an amputee! I live sharing my story and I hope it encourages others.